CraftyGrrrl.ca

I had a paper due last night for my on-line English class…I completley forgot about it until a class mate sent me a text asking how it was going.

In short I was unable to pull that out of the bag. So very annoyed.

Am goingto be spendign my last day of my spring break workign to get ahead of the assignments so this doesn’t happen again.

It’s done and has been blocking for days!

Yarn: Briar Rose Dream Weaver

Pattern: Side-Way Ribs Cardigan by Norah Gaughan

Needles: Denise 11, used size 15 for the three needle bind off to avoid a tight seam.

Started it during my fall reading week & was 3/4 done when I went back to school 7 days later. Project was shelved while in school but was dusted off during the Christmas break where the knitting was completed and it was seamed twice both times to my complete dissatisfaction. I had plans to graft the two back pieces together but that became a HUGE FAIL!!! Determined to finish it before spring reading week was over I bit the bullet, tried a few bind off techniques and was finally mostly happy.

The yarn relaxed A LOT after blocking (or I could just be a way looser knitter than I thought!), we’re talking down to my knees, as it’s still damp I’m hoping it won’t be as long once completly dry…and if not whatever, I have a very lovely slouchy comfort cardi. Am tempted to put it in the dryer on low to speed up the drying process…but I think that would be tempting the Fiber Gods in ways that would end with me in tears!

Terribly sorry for not paying you any attention for what turns out to be the better part of a month. I’ve been a bit busy with “stuff”. What sort of “stuff” you ask?

Well let me give you the short list.

Aside from the whole school, home work stuff, I’ve been:

Knitting (rather unsuccessfully actually). In January I started a replacement Clapotis (my first one was felted, we no longer discuss it) using Dye-Version bamboo yarn in a wonderfull flame colours. We were knitting along happily till Winter decided to arrive in earnest so it was put aside for some utilitarian knitting. My head was cold, I needed a new hat. Pattern was chosen and yarn was found, knitting was commenced. I was destined to have the nerd-y-est head EVAH! But that arch enemy of all knitters; Gauge reared it’s ugly maw at me. My Scotty Hat was big enough for two if not three heads to fit in it. Frogging ensued while air went a few shaded of blue.  I have since restarted the hat but have switched to using Trekking for my pattern, things are working out much better and my head will be toasty warm just in time for Spring!

I have also bought a camera…and not just any camera. I bought a serious business TLR (Twin Lens Reflex)…specifically a Rolleicord VB. It will be here by months’ end. I’m terribly excited and am considering naming him Roland…because I’m allerative that way. Once school is done I plan to take the only non digital camera course avaliable in Toronto at Ryerson, so I can dust off my old and long forgotten camera skills as well as learn to use a dark room for something other than making out.

There has been no weaving or spinning, but I have been thinking about both a lot! I have me some bitchin’ plans, just as soon as I have a spare moment which may happen sooner than expected. The College Professors in Ontario are voting this coming Wednesday whether or not they will accept the latest contract offer from Management. If it’s rejected there will be a strike called 5 days later. So I may get some free time sooner than expected, but it will push back my graduation date which is somethign I’m not at all thrilled with.

Promise I will try to have some photos next post, it’s nice to have the visuals…

It appears that the scarf I wove for my Mum’s Christmas gift  is a huge success! She loves it, has recieved many compliments on it and at it’s most recent outing was asked if I do custom work.

This last bit got me thinking and wondering if this is a viable plan? Could I actually make and sell hand woven scarves and wraps? I’m not expecting this to become a full time gig that can support the household (although that would be lovely) but it would be great to have this little thing on the side that helpes me to burn through my stash and generates income that I can use for my hobby and make it possible to buy the loom of my dreams…

Will have to look into how to price the items as well as the whole business license thing (did this before when Chris started a small business) as well as the taxes and all that jazz…market research is another thing to look into. As for places to sell stuff: Toronto has a tonne of small shops that sell hand crafted goods on consignment as well as a bunch of great little craft fairs and of course there is ETSY.

There is a lot to consider and I must also be realistic about the time commitments and beign carefull to keep it fun and not have it becoem drudge work which I will  become resentfull of.

I really feel like I blinked and missed 2009!

This year held some big changes, I’m glad it’s over and I’m very much ready for the new year/decade to start. I have some big plans and a few goals.

Hope your New Year’s celebrations are fun and you get home safe. We will in classic style be having a quiet one at home and more than likely be in bed by 10, as I have to work all weekend.

It’s 5 days after Christmas and I have one gift still on  the needles, my plan is to have it cast off tonight. I would have been done it in time too except I took a little four day break  and knit a little sweater for myself…Wrenna from French Girl Knits (photos will follow eventually) used Limari in a festive deep red.

As for my other knitted gifts…they were all well received by the giftees, but we forgot to pack the camera so there are no photos. My sister was given a Just Enough Ruffles scarf knit from almost 3 skeins of Malabrigo Silky in bright pink, the MIL received Stella’s Hat, knit from Malabrigo Merino in a yellowy/gold. My Mum was gifted a woven scarfthat she really likes and apparently has been showing it off to all and sundry since opening it. I used a Fleece Artist yarn bundle I bought at LettuceKnit some time ago that contained a skein of mohair and a skein of Merino sock yarn in really nice earth tones. I liked it so much, she almost didn’t get it.

It appears that my fibery talents have come as a surprise to some people…but that is a post for another day, like tomorrow!

It’s been a bit…so a little recap.

School is done for the semester, I return to class on Jan 11th and the college is having a strike vote on the 13th. Looks like I may have a longer break than intended. This modules exams were a bit more of a challenge than the first one. I don’t expect my makes to remain in the 4.0 GPA, grades are posted on the 24th.

My holiday knitting has gone off the rails, my big plan to kit everyone a gift is a FAIL! but I am getting better at accepting that I’m not as fast a knitter as I like to think I am. There will be a few gifts arriving late to the recipients.

For now, I must don my super hero cape to conquer Mt. Laundry and rescue the kitchen from the clutter that is advancing on it.

Shhh! Don’t tell, but I’m procrastinating  studying for my exams…although, I could claim that this is typing practice for my Document Prep/Word 2007 class and is making me use all that grammar and punctuation I learned about in my Business English class. Let’s just go with that, shall we?

So, the holiday knitting is coming along. I’m not as far along as I had hoped to be but what do you expect with I seem to be forgetting my knitting at home at least one day a week. It’s getting more than a bit annoying. To rectify the situation I have placed a project in each of the bags I use on a regular basis, we shall see how well this plan works. I beieve I have four more projects to complete, they are small-ish so once my exams are done I should, in theory, be able to bang them out in a week. We shall see how well this plan works in reality as I seem to think I am a much faster knitter that I really I am.

Once the gift knitting is done and gifted I’m determined to finish off the two sweaters that have been languishing for the past few months: Elsewhere and Side-way Ribs Cardigan.  There are also plans afoot to take an inventory of the state of my WIPs. I have a lot of them, there are a bunch that I’ve gone off the idea of knitting and a few that it’s been so long since we have seen each other I have no idea where I left off. I have accepted that there will more than likely be a serious frog session that day which is fine, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Moving forward, I’m starting to ogranize my Ravelry queue to refelct my knitting plans for the new year. Chris and the kids are each due for a new sweater and I’m contemplating a few for myself to act as rewards for completing in their sweaters in a decent amount of time. Chris has asked for The Wash Sweater, Abi and Liam will both be getting standard issue top-down raglans.  As for my reward knits…Here’s the short list:

Ophicleide

Sage Remedy Top

Buttercup

Topstykke Stor Storrelse

Ditto

Moch Cardi

Leaf T-shirt

I have some yummy yarn options in my stash to choose from which just adds to the incentive to get the sweaters done for the others! This is all working into part of a larger New Year’s resolution I have in the works.

I mean really, I would like to start them NOW!!

The past six weeks has flown by and it was not a fun bit of flying at all!

We had no less than 3 lice infestations (parenthood is so glamourous!) 2 bouts of nasty colds and a near miss on my having a mental breakdown. School has been super busy and I’m really feeling the wear and tear this term but I’m keeping my eye on the prize. The lack of socializing and life will be worth it in the end!

I start to sit my exams later this week and will be done as of the 16th of December, then I’m off till January 11th! I have some rather mundane tasks to get to over the holidays but I also have some super fun crafting plans!

There are two sweater to be finished off, one weaving project to get warped AND after some discussion with a friend, will be playing around with one onf my old Brownie cameras and seeing if I can use it as a proper camera! For some odd reason this is really exciting me right now…I blame the exhaustion and exam nerves!

Just studying furiously, fighting lice (three infestations in one month!!! Parenthood is so glamourous!), working and making some progress on my gift knitting!

Pictures of the hand knits will come after the holidays!